Multi-barrel system and apparatus

ABSTRACT

In various embodiments, a multi-barrel revolver and/or firearm system may comprise a cylinder barrel. The cylinder barrel may be removable from a frame. The cylinder barrel may comprise one or more chambers coupled to one or more barrels. The cylinder barrel may be further configured to shoot a plurality of calibers of ammunition. In various embodiments, the cylinder barrel may allow an operator to scavenge and fire any caliber of ammunition.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, claims the benefit of and priority to, U.S. Ser. No. 14/471,874, entitled “MULTI-BARREL SYSTEM AND APPARATUS,” filed on Aug. 28, 2014. The '874 application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Ser. No. 61/871,210, entitled “MULTI-BARREL SYSTEM AND APPARATUS,” filed on Aug. 28, 2013. The entire disclosures of both of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference for any purpose.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to firearms, and more particularly to revolvers having multiple chambers and barrels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typical revolvers comprise a cylinder having four to eight chambers. These chambers are generally configured to receive a single caliber of ammunition. The cylinder may rotatably align an individual chamber of the cylinder with the barrel. The barrel may be appropriately rifled and/or sized for the particular ammunition. In this regard a typical revolver is only able to shoot one caliber of ammunition, which is generally defined by the chamber sizing of the cylinder and/or rifling of the barrel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In various embodiments, a revolver may comprise a cylinder barrel and a frame. The cylinder barrel may have a plurality of chambers and integral barrels. The plurality of chambers may be configured to fire a first caliber of ammunition and a second caliber of ammunition. The frame may be capable of rotatably receiving the cylinder barrel.

In various embodiments, a multi-barrel firearm system may comprise a frame, a first cylinder barrel and a firing mechanism. The first cylinder barrel may comprise a plurality of chambers. Each of the plurality of chambers may be associated with a rifled barrel. The firing mechanism may include a firing pin and a trigger. The firing pin may be configured to strike an activation location within a chamber of the cylinder barrel in response to the trigger being actuated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a revolver in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a first exploded perspective view of a portion of a revolver in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a second exploded perspective view of a revolver in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a cylinder barrel assembly in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 4A-4J are front views of various cylinder barrels in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration and their best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the inventions, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical, chemical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventions. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not necessarily limited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact.

In various embodiments, the multi-barrel revolver provides an operator with the flexibility to shoot any available caliber of ammunition. In this regard, a cylinder barrel may be interchangeable in the revolver frame and/or may comprise barrels of various calibers. Moreover, a multi-barrel, multi-caliber revolver provides an operator in a survival and/or scavenger situation to use any suitable ammunition the operator may come upon or find.

In various embodiments, the multi-barrel revolver may comprise a universal firing system. In this regards, the cylinder and firing mechanism (e.g., a firing pin and hammer) may aligned such that the firing mechanism is capable of striking an activation point (e.g., a rim, a primer, and/or any other suitable activation point) on any suitable caliber of ammunition.

In various embodiments and with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A-2B, multi-barrel revolver 100 may comprise a frame 110, a cylinder 120, and a firing mechanism 130. Frame 110 may be configured with and/or comprise a handle 112, a trigger guard 114, and a flash hider 116. Frame 110 may also be configured with any suitable groove and/or sight system including, for example, sight system 118. Sight system 118 may comprise a front sight and/or a rear sight. Cylinder barrel 120 may rotatably couple to and/or install on frame 110. Cylinder barrel 120 may comprise one or more barrels (e.g., six barrels including, for example, barrel 122A, barrel 122B, barrel 122C, barrel 122D, barrel 122E, and barrel 122F, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A).

In various embodiments, cylinder barrel 120 may rotate about a shaft 124. In this regard, cylinder barrel 120 may comprise and/or define a central channel. Shaft 124 may be receivable in the central channel of cylinder barrel 120. Cylinder barrel 120 may be rotatably coupled to frame 110 by any suitable support including, for example, support 126. More specifically, support 126 may operatively couple and/or rotatably couple to shaft 124. In this regard, support 126 may couple and/or attach cylinder barrel 120 to frame 110 via shaft 124.

In various embodiments, cylinder barrel 120 may actuate from a loading position to a firing position. In the loading position (e.g., when cylinder barrel 120 is rotated out of frame 110), an operator may have access to the various chamber/barrels of cylinder barrel 120 (e.g., barrel 122A, barrel 122B, barrel 122C, barrel 122D, barrel 122E, and barrel 122F, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A). In the firing position (e.g., when cylinder barrel 120 is rotated with frame 110), revolver 100 may be fired (e.g., discharge a bullet from one or more barrels, including, for example, barrel 122A, barrel 122B, barrel 122C, barrel 122D, barrel 122E, and barrel 122F, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A) in response to firing mechanism 130 being activated (e.g., a trigger 134 being pulled).

In various embodiments and with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, firing mechanism 130 may comprise a trigger 134, a hammer 136, and a firing pin 132. Firing mechanism 130 may be installable in frame 110. More specifically, trigger 134 may install through frame 110 and be surrounded by trigger guard 114. Hammer 136 may rotatably install in and/or movably attach to frame 110. Hammer 136 may also be operatively coupled to trigger 132. Housing 110 may further define a firing pin channel.

In various embodiments, firing pin 132 may be installed in the firing pin channel of housing 110. In this regard, hammer 136 may be actuated by a user and by depressing trigger 132, causing hammer 136 to strike firing pin 132. In operation and in response to firing pin 132 being struck by hammer 136, a primer or rim of a bullet may be ignited causing the bullet to be activated.

In various embodiments, the ignition point of various calibers of ammunition may vary. As such, cylinder barrel 120 and firing pin 132 may be designed to insure that firing pin 132 aligns with at least a portion of the activation surface for each of the various calibers. In this regard, firing mechanism 130 may employ a floating firing pin architecture. The architecture may provide a system that is capable of activating and/or igniting any suitable caliber of ammunition that may be found and/or available.

In various embodiments, floating firing pin mechanism 130 may be configured with a cylinder barrel 120 that comprises a plurality of chambers that are suitably dimensioned within the chamber such that firing pin 132 strikes a round of ammunition at an activation point (e.g., a rim and/or a primer). In this regard, firing pin 132 may be configured to strike a primer of a round of ammunition and/or a rim of a round of ammunition and/or any other suitable activation point. By employing floating firing pin mechanism 132 in a revolver (where a typical revolver may rely on a hammer striking the activation point of ammunition), revolver 100 may provide an operator with a system and/or revolver apparatus that is capable of firing any suitable ammunition that is available and/or can be secured through scavenging.

In various embodiments, the various chamber location of cylinder barrel 120 may be located such that the activation points of various calibers of ammunition (e.g., the primer and/or rim of a round of ammunition) are aligned with the floating firing pin mechanism 132. In this regard, the various activation points of multiple calibers of ammunition of a loadable into a single cylinder barrel may share a common activation point along a circumference of cylinder barrel 120.

In various embodiments and in operation, hammer 136 may be actuated by a user to set the position of trigger 132 in a single action operating mode. Trigger 132 may also be depressed and/or actuated by a user causing hammer 136 to cycle and strike firing pin 132 (in a double action operating condition). In this regard the actuation of either trigger 132 and/or hammer 136 may cause cylinder barrel 120 to rotate. This rotation aligns a bullet and/or chamber with firing pin 132 allowing for activation of the bullet and/or ammunition.

In various embodiments and with reference to FIGS. 2A-2B, and FIG. 3, cylinder barrel 120 may rotatably and removably couple to frame 110. In this regard, support member 126 may be configured to receive and/or support cylinder barrel 120 and shaft 124. Shaft 124 may be installable through cylinder barrel 120, a spring 123 and a guide 121. Shaft 124 may further couple to an attachment shaft 127 and ejector 129. Shaft 124 may be movable within cylinder barrel 120 causing ejector 129 to move, linearly, relative to the longitudinal centerline of cylinder barrel 120. When ammunition is loaded into cylinder barrel 120 ejector 129 may operatively engage the cases of various calibers of ammunition in order to clear one or more chamber/barrels (e.g., barrel 122A, barrel 122B, barrel 122C, barrel 122D, barrel 122E, and barrel 122F, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A) in response to one or more rounds of ammunition (e.g., of the same caliber or various calibers) being fired.

In various embodiments and with reference to FIGS. 4A-4J, cylinder barrel 420 may be chambered and rifled with one or more calibers. Moreover, cylinder barrel 420 may be chambered and/or rifled with any suitable caliber to fire any suitable caliber of ammunition. For example, cylinder barrel 420 may be chambered is a single caliber (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 4A-4H), in two calibers (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4J), in three calibers, and/or in multiple calibers (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4I). In various embodiments, a single chamber (e.g., a chamber sized for .357 may be capable of receiving, firing and delivering various calibers including for example 38 special and/or a chamber sized for 410 shotgun may be capable of receiving, firing and delivering 45 long Colt (i.e., LC)).

In various embodiments, cylinder barrel 120/420 may be reconfigurable. In this regard, the various chamber/barrels (e.g., barrel 122A, barrel 122B, barrel 122C, barrel 122D, barrel 122E, and barrel 122F, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A) of cylinder barrel 120/420 may be removable and/or sleevable. In this regard, a single cylinder barrel may be capable of being configured by a user to shoot any combination of rounds of ammunition in any caliber.

In various embodiments, the multi-barrel/multi-caliber revolvers and system disclosed herein may be capable of providing an operator with an efficient firearm system. The firearm system may be customizable, reconfigurable and/or capable of shooting any suitable caliber of ammunition.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the inventions. The scope of the inventions is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Different cross-hatching is used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials.

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments.

Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A revolver, comprising: a cylinder barrel having a plurality of chambers and integral barrels, the plurality of chambers being configured to fire a first caliber of ammunition and a second caliber of ammunition; and a frame capable of rotatably receiving the cylinder barrel. 